Vehicles, such as off-road vehicles, commercial/utility trucks used in construction and by contractors, tow trucks, plow trucks, and other utility vehicles are often equipped with auxiliary systems (e.g., accessories) such as winches, plows, lights, and compressors. For example, to operate a winch, an operator of the winch may need to perform actions such as operate a clutch lever, operate a remote control, manage rigging, and spool rope onto (or off) a drum. All of these actions may require a certain level of visual awareness of the operator and in addition may require a certain level of external lighting. Specifically, in dark conditions, the operator may rely on external lighting such as flashlight, headlamp, vehicle lighting, and the like. Thus, if external lighting is not available, the operator may not be able to effectively operate the winch.
Thus, in one example, the above issues may be at least partially addressed by a lighting control system of a winch, including: a plurality of lights coupled to the winch; a plurality of sensors coupled to the winch; and a controller including memory with instructions for: adjusting an output of the plurality of lights in response to signals received from the plurality of sensors to indicate an operational status of the winch. In another example, a winch system may include a lighting system (including the plurality of lights) integrated with a sensor system (including the plurality of sensors). The lighting system may include a plurality of light sources illuminating one or more of the winch drum, clutch lever, rope, hook, and a remote socket. In this way, by shining light directly onto the winch drum, the operator may be able to visually inspect the rope spooling onto the winch drum, even when there is reduced or no external lighting available, for example. In addition, the sensor system of the winch system may include a plurality of sensors such as proximity sensors, light sensors, magnetic sensors, cameras, and the like. By positioning such sensors at or near the plurality of light sources of the lighting system, a position of the rope and hook, relative to the winch drum and/or fairlead, may be determined. Based on the position of the rope and the hook, the sensor system may be able to send winch status feedback to the operator of the winch.
As an example, if the rope is nearly payed off the winch, fully payed on the winch drum, stacked to one side of the winch drum, or if there is rope degradation, the winch system may issue visual alerts (e.g., changing color of light, flashing lights, and the like) and/or audio alerts (via speakers, for example) to the operator. Based on the alerts received, the operator may adjust winch operation. For example, when light is directed from the plurality of light sources onto the rope, cameras of the sensor system may be able to detect degradation on the rope of the winch system. If rope degradation is detected, the sensor system may issue a sensor signal, causing the lighting system to begin flashing its lights. When the operator sees the visual alert in the form of flashing lights, he/she may further inspect the rope and assess the situation. However, if the rope degradation is more severe, the operator may stop operating the winch system, thus averting further degradation of the rope and the system. In this way, the equipment degradation may be reduced and enhanced longevity of the winch may be increased.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.